Caramel Apple Cookies

If you love caramel apples, you need these cookies in your life. Brown sugar cookies are stuffed with finely chopped granny smith apple and drizzled with a caramel sauce. Every bite has that same salty sweet taste as a caramel apple, but in cookie form!

These cookies are so fun to make, but are also really easy. The dough will need to chill for about 30 minutes, but it makes it so worth it.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that your butter is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Egg: You want to make sure that your egg is at room temperature to ensure that it is properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave it out before you start baking, place it in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until it becomes room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.

You'll first get started with the caramel drizzle. Combine the sugar, salt, and water in a nonstick sauce pan and heat over medium high heat for about 6-8 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns a light amber brown color.

Turn the heat down to medium low and carefully pour the heavy cream into the mixture. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes or so until it has thickened slightly. Transfer to a heat proof bowl and chill.

Preheat the oven to 350º F. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the butter and sugars on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Gently fold in about half of the finely chopped apple. Place the bowl of dough in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. Chill the other half of the chopped apple.

Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, form cookies into balls. Place each cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet a few inches apart. Add a few more pieces of chopped apple to the tops of each cookie.

Bake the cookies for about 13-15 minutes. You can use a round cookie cutter or cup to "cookie scoot" or round them out at about the 10 minute mark. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully moving them to a cooling rack.

Transfer caramel to a small piping bag or ziploc with the tip cut off and carefully drizzle over each cookie. If the caramel is too thick, you can reheat it in the bowl for 10 seconds at a time until its at a drizzling consistency. Enjoy!

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